Scottish Executive

Air Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with British Airways and Loganair about their internal (a) Scottish and (b) Highlands and Islands routes with regard to the Route Development Fund for air routes announced on 18 November 2002.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is in regular contact with airlines and airport operators about a range of issues, including those referred to in the answer given to question S1W-31793 on 3 December 2002.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rationale is used to decide the length of time between tests for amnesic shellfish poisoning levels in any given designated area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The testing for amnesic shellfish poison levels in any given area is determined by assessment of risk.

  The criteria for this risk assessment includes whether the area is capable of being exploited and is subject to active harvesting, the pattern of previous sample results from the area, results from the Food Standards Agency Scotland phytoplankton monitoring programme and information supplied to the Executive from the Marine Laboratory Aberdeen research work.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of toxins in scallops can fluctuate on a daily and weekly basis.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Once scallops have fed on toxic phytoplankton and their flesh has become toxic the level will not fluctuate. Levels will, however, continue to accumulate while the animal feeds on the toxic phytoplankton.

  In the absence of these species the scallop will begin to depurate and toxin levels will decrease.

Care of Elderly People

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that people in the Renfrewshire Council area that are eligible to receive free personal and nursing care receive that care.

Mr Frank McAveety: Provisions of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 together with regulations made by Scottish ministers provide the legislative basis for the delivery of free personal and nursing care. Renfrewshire Council has indicated they are meeting the regulatory and legislative requirements to implement free personal care for people in their area.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31271 by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2002, what advice it is taking in formulating guidance to users of anticoagulation monitoring strips and when it expects to be able to make such guidance available.

Malcolm Chisholm: A multidisciplinary working group was convened in May 2002 to produce guidance for NHS prescribers prior to the addition of Coaguchek self testing strips to the Scottish Drug Tariff. The guidance is now available on www.show.scot.nhs.uk for NHS prescribers and dispensing contractors. Coaguchek testing strips were added to the Scottish Drug Tariff on 27 November 2002.

Health

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 350 one-stop clinics are located in the Renfrewshire Council area; where such clinics are located, and what services they offer.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on one-stop clinics operated by NHSScotland is not available in the specific format requested.

  NHS Argyll and Clyde currently operates 29 one-stop clinics where patients receive consultation, diagnostic tests, results, and if appropriate treatment, all in a single visit. Details of these one-stop clinics are given in the following table.

  One-Stop Clinics Operated By NHS Argyll And Clyde

  


Location 
  

Service 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding (Gynaecology) 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Breast Clinic 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Cataract 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Colorectal Cancer 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Colposcopy 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Diabetes 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Early Pregnancy Assessment Centre 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Genito-Urinary Medicine Referral 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Rheumatology 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Social Gynaecology 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Uro-Gynaecology Clinic 
  



Inverclyde Royal Hospital 
  

Vulval Clinic (Dermatology and Gynaecology) 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding (Gynaecology) 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Breast Clinic 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Cardiology 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Colposcopy 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Early Pregnancy 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Genito-Urinary Medicine Referral 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

HbA1C Near Patient Testing (Adult Diabetes) 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

HbA1C Near Patient Testing (Paediatric) Diabetes) 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Head and Neck Cancer Clinic 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Hysteroscopy 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Lumps and Bumps 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Memory Clinic 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

Social Gynaecology 
  



Vale of Leven Hospital 
  

Breast Clinic 
  



Vale of Leven Hospital 
  

Chest Pain 
  



Lorn and Island District General Hospital 
  

Chest Pain 
  



Russell Institute, Paisley 
  

Genito-Urinary Medicine

NHS Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of additional £3.2 billion to be spent on health by 2007-08 as a result of the UK Budget 2002 will be allocated to the Argyll and Clyde NHS Board and what instructions will be issued about the use of these funds.

Malcolm Chisholm: Argyll and Clyde NHS Board has been given an indicative increase in unified budget for 2003-04 of £30.115 million. Boards will be notified of actual unified budgets for 2003-04 soon. Decisions on indicative allocation increases to unified budgets for future years have not yet been taken.

NHS Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £48 million to build and renovate health centres has been, or will be, allocated to Argyll and Clyde NHS Board and what projects the funds will be used for.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has so far allocated £5,766,000 to support 17 projects in the Argyll and Clyde NHS Board area from the Primary Care Premises Modernisation Programme. A list of the projects concerned has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 25368).

Procurators Fiscal

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is its policy that the holding of training days for procurators fiscal should influence whether routine arrests are made by the police over a certain timescale and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: There is no such policy.

Recycling

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is being made available this financial year to local authorities to encourage recycling and composting.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has allocated £16 million to the Strategic Waste Fund (SWF) in this financial year. Several local authorities have submitted bids to the Executive for implementation of Area Waste Plans and these are now being assessed against a number of criteria before awards may be made.

  However, it is clear that authorities’ bids will not be sufficient to use the full £16 million allocation on specific projects, presumably because many authorities have not completed their longer term implementation plans. I therefore intend to distribute £6 million of this year's allocation between all authorities to be used on short-term recycling and composting initiatives. This will be distributed between authorities using a standard population-based local government revenue formula.

  This funding will allow local authorities to build on the good work achieved with the £3 million distributed for recycling and composting by the Executive in March 2001 and the £2.46 million which authorities have allocated this year to recycling from the Executive’s Quality of Life funding. It will ensure that momentum is not lost whilst longer term implementation plans are being prepared. This would also enable local authorities, which are not yet in a position to submit long-term bids to the fund to continue to contribute towards progress on the Executive’s 25% target for recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2006. My officials will be writing to individual local authorities to inform them of the funding available to them and asking them to submit proposals for the Executive's approval before funds are distributed. I will also request that funding be committed in this financial year.

  The amount allocated to each authority is outlined in the following table:

  Allocation of £6 Million for Recycling and Composting

  


Council 
  

Allocation (£) 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

212,000 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

376,000 
  



Angus 
  

150,000 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

160,000 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

50,000 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

246,000 
  



Dundee City 
  

144,000 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

132,000 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

106,000 
  



East Lothian 
  

106,000 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

84,000 
  



Edinburgh City 
  

446,000 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

58,000 
  



Falkirk 
  

146,000 
  



Fife 
  

374,000 
  



Glasgow City 
  

604,000 
  



Highland 
  

380,000 
  



Inverclyde 
  

82,000 
  



Midlothian 
  

86,000 
  



Moray 
  

116,000 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

152,000 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

316,000 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

42,000 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

202,000 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

174,000 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

166,000 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

50,000 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

138,000 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

330,000 
  



Stirling 
  

118,000 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

92,000 
  



West Lothian 
  

162,000 
  



Total 
  

6,000,000

Scottish Executive Websites

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-30864 and S1W-30870 by Cathy Jamieson and Mr Andy Kerr on 15 November 2002, whether the statistics on hits to the National Debate on Education website in the answer to question S1W-30864 show the number of (a) hits to the entire site (successful), (b) page impressions or (c) visits (user sessions).

Cathy Jamieson: The statistics on hits to the National Debate website in the answer given to question S1W-30864 show page impressions for the homepages of the discussion and reflection phases of the debate since its launch on 20 March 2002.

  The following table shows these figures, along with the total number of page impressions per month for the entire site for comparison. The total number of page impressions for the entire site from 20 March to end October was over 53,000.

  We do not hold statistics for the number of visits (user sessions) to the site.

  


Period 
  

Page Impressions for Discussion and Reflection 
  Homepages 
  

Page Impressions for Entire Site 
  



20/03/2002 to 29/04/2002 
  

4,246 
  

12,157 
  



30/04/2002 to 27/05/2002 
  

3,860 
  

10,526 
  



28/05/2002 to 24/06/2002 
  

3,865 
  

9,753 
  



25/06/2002 to 29/07/2002 
  

1,472 
  

3,546 
  



30/07/2002 to 26/08/2002 
  

445 
  

1,036 
  



27/08/2002 to 30/09/2002 
  

692 
  

1,434 
  



01/10/2002 to 28/10/2002 
  

6,626 
  

14,771

Sexual Offences

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to modernisation of the criminal law in respect of abuse of a position of trust by those that care for, advise, supervise or train young persons under the age of 18.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 introduced a new offence of abuse of trust. There are no immediate plans to amend these provisions.

Social Inclusion

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many families in the Renfrewshire Council area have benefited from Sure Start Scotland, and in what ways, and how much of that organisation's £42 million funding was allocated to projects in the area.

Cathy Jamieson: To date £61 million has been allocated to local authorities in Scotland to implement the Sure Start Scotland programme. Of that total, Renfrewshire Council has received £2.476 million. It has used the money to extend existing provision, such as expansion of all day care resources and the extension of the childminding service. It has also created new services previously not available within the council's area such as outreach support and support to ethnic minority families.

  A recent national mapping exercise found that Sure Start Scotland has offered support to over 15,000 additional children and 6,000 parents in 2000-01. However, it is not possible to break this down to local authority level as raw data would not be of sufficient quality and completeness to support analysis or to allow conclusions to be drawn or comparisons with other data to be made. The figures cover a wide range of provision which vary in intensity from one-off interventions to sustained support over a long period.

Speed Limits

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Department for Transport about introducing variable speed limits on rural roads.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31684 on 3 December 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .